Most of the time, I tell you about the big biodiesel plants that are helping shed this country of its dependance on foreign oil. Those operations that crank out millions of gallons a year are great and make a BIG difference. But sometimes its nice to report on the little guys who are making a difference in their own right. …
Biodiesel Gives Back
Many times we hear about the government incentives designed to encourage the biodiesel industry, but this story is about something the industry is giving back to one community. According to this story in the Decatur (Georgia) Daily News, the city of Athens, GA was in need of a sponsor for a family resource center when a local biodiesel producer stepped …
Int’l Biodiesel Conference Set
Mark your calendar for the International Congress on Biodiesel, November 5-7th in Vienna Austria. Congress General Chair Michael Haas of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service posted a message on the American Oil Chemists’ Society’s web site (one of the conference sponsors, along with the USDA) inviting participants to open a global discussion on the science and the technologies of biodiesel: …
Nebraska Gets Biodiesel Tax Credit
With the stroke of a pen, Nebraska biodiesel producers gain a credit for production of the green fuel. Governor Dave Heineman signed the legislation, originally sponsored by State Senator Chris Langemeier of Schuyler, designed to encourage greater investment in biodiesel production. According to this release on the Governor’s web site, a tax credit of up to 30% would be given …
BioSelect, Chevron Open Biodiesel Plant
BioSelect Fuels LLC – a division of Standard Renewable Energy – and oil-giant Chevron cut the ribbon on a new biodiesel plant in Galveston today (May 29th). According to this press release on Chevron’s web site, the refinery will start producing 20 million gallons of biodiesel a year with the capability of 110 million gallons… making it one of the …
2007 Farm to Fuel Summit
Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson has scheduled the second annual “Farm to Fuel” summit July 18-20 at the Marriott Renaissance Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg. Hoping to build on recent developments in Florida’s efforts to establish a renewable energy industry, Bronson said the meeting will cover current initiatives relating to ethanol and bio-diesel, as well as other …
Green Scum Becoming Green Fuel
There’s been some talk around for a while about turning algae into biodiesel (remember Oilgae.com?). The latest story comes from the Green Options blog: Researchers at Utah State University say that farming algae, with reported oil yields of 10,000 gallons per acre, could become an economically feasible biodiesel feedstock by the end of the decade. This is the Holy Grail …
Biodiesel Study Rolls On
Updating a story I first reported on March 22nd, Decker Truck Lines of Fort Dodge, Iowa has hit the 750,000-mile mark in a two-year, two-million-mile study of how well B20, 20% biodiesel, works in long-haul semi trucks. This story in Farm News-Iowa.com says the study is the first of its kind in this country and is getting some help from …
New Technology Makes Green Fuel Greener
Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc., has found a way to make diesel fuel burn cleaner. That means biodiesel, which already burns pretty clean, will be an even greener fuel. Dr. Walter Copan, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Clean Diesel, says his company has developed a range of retrofit emissions control technologies, called Purifier. This new technology will help …
Big Oil, Big Chicken, and Big Soap Fight Over Tax Credit
Only in Washington, DC would you find the genesis of a headline like that. But this story in The Hill.com says a brouhaha is breaking out in the nation’s capitol over the $1-a-gallon renewable diesel tax credit. Lobbyists for ConocoPhillips, Tyson, and the Soap and Detergent Association have jumped into the fight over whether oil companies should be able to …